T-Mac gets assistRockets provide star enough help to outduel James

Published 6:30 am, Friday, January 6, 2006

He put the ball on the court and walked to the Cleveland bench, where LeBron James had spent the final minute. They met in a hug, sharing their wonder at one another's brilliance and perhaps a bit of empathy.

The Rockets gave James the McGrady Treatment on Thursday, locking him in traps and double teams and daring his teammates to beat them. James, like McGrady when caught in such defensive snares, was magnificent. But for the second consecutive game, McGrady got help down the stretch as the Rockets held on to win 90-81 before 18,019 at Quicken Loans Arena.

"Obviously, all the focus is on us to carry our team," McGrady said. "That's what we get paid the big bucks for. We're fierce competitors going at it on the court. Off the court, we're like brothers. That's my little homey."

McGrady finished with 34 points and five assists. James had 32 and five. But in the fourth quarter, when the Cavs reduced a Rockets lead that had reached 17 to three, McGrady got offensive help from Juwan Howard and Rafer Alston while James was left relatively alone.

So good and so young

"He sees what I go through now," McGrady said. "Damn, man. You sure he is 21? We've got to check his birth certificate. I knew he was good, but I didn't know he was making shots like that.

"The guy is an unbelievable talent. I don't care who you are or what you do, one guy is not going to stop that guy, just like I love to see single coverage on me, because one guy is not going to stop me. We gave him my treatment a little bit. He made some awesome plays, and he made some awesome shots."

While McGrady had his fourth consecutive 30-point game since his 21-point half and halftime departure against the Utah Jazz, he also spent most of his 43 minutes assigned to James while the Cavaliers rotated defenders on McGrady. Both, however, got plenty of defensive help.

Offensively, however, the Cavaliers around James — who made 13 of his 19 shots — struggled, especially at the line, where the sixth-best free-throw shooting team in the NBA made just eight of 18 attempts.

"That guy is ridiculous," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said of James. "My gosh. I love the way he passes. He and McGrady are a lot alike in that way. They trust their teammates. They see the floor well, and they're willing to give it up.

Seemingly comfortable lead

After so many games in which the Rockets could not make the shots McGrady got them, James' shooters struggled, and the Rockets took a 14-point halftime lead to as much as 17 with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Rockets led 69-52 when McGrady went up for a 3 and a 20-point lead.

McGrady's shot, however, fell far short of the rim, with the Rockets screaming that Ira Newble had smacked his forearm on the shot. James immediately pulled up to nail a 3, and after McGrady missed a jumper, James stopped on a break to nail another 3, and the Cavaliers were rolling.

A game after the Washington Wizards had cut a 26-point third-quarter Rockets lead to eight, the Cavaliers outscored the Rockets 17-4 to move from a 17-point deficit within 73-69 on a Donyell Marshall trey three minutes into the fourth quarter.

"I love coming out with a victory, but I'm concerned with giving up those leads," Alston said. "We have to find a way to extend it and put them away so we don't have to be in a dogfight."

Stemming the tide

Cleveland even moved within three when Zydrunas Ilgauskas hit a jumper with 4 1/2 minutes left. But as they had in Washington, the Rockets made the late shots that close out wins, with McGrady scoring on a drive, Alston dropping in four free throws, and Howard nailing consecutive jumpers when the Cavaliers trapped McGrady.

"We know we can't stop him," James said. "We want to try and contain him and make the other guys on their team beat us. Their team stepped up."

That, in the end, was the only difference between them. So after a hug, McGrady threw a short jab into James' chest as they left the floor, with each knowing perhaps better than anyone just how the other feels.

Rockets Summary

Barry's calf, wit fine

Guard Jon Barry returned to the Rockets' active roster after missing 12 games with a strained right calf.

Barry missed three games because of a sprained right foot, played two minutes on Dec. 6 against Boston, and then went out again. He said the timing was right to return.

"It's on TNT," Barry said. "Boost the ratings a little bit. I'm sure they were anticipating a matchup between me and LeBron (James). I don't want to disappoint the country. We're going to do it. They like to see us go head up. We've had some great battles over the years."

Barry was cleared after hard workouts Tuesday and Wednesday.

"I feel good," Barry said. "It's been a long time. ... I had two workouts that were really good, doing quickness stuff, sprinting, doing stuff on the floor you might do in a game, and I could do it fine."

Sura starts rehab

Guard
Bob Sura
began rehabilitation of his right knee on Thursday, a routine he expects will determine if and when he can play again. Sura had knee surgery after last season and again in October, then had back surgery in November.

The back surgery, his second in 14 months, seems to have solved his disk problem, allowing him to move on to the knee rehabilitation.

"No real target date," trainer Keith Jones said. "The doctor will see him every week, keep adding something or taking something out. I bet it will be three weeks before we have an idea how long it will take."

Wesley adjusting

After adjusting to playing point guard extensively for the first time since his rookie season, guard
David Wesley
has moved back to shooting guard with the return of
Rafer Alston.
He doesn't mind the move, but he said he ended up not minding playing the point.

"It's just different guarding point guards and guarding 2 guards," Wesley said. "I still run the point guard when Rafer's not in there. It's a different mindset, keeping everything organized as a point guard and coming off and I don't touch the ball so much."

Inside the numbers

•
11
— Rockets wins in their 13 games when scoring 90 points or more.
•
18
— Points by
Rafer Alston
, a season high, to go with a season-high four steals.
•
2
— of 19 3-pointers made by the Cavaliers at the time the Rockets held their largest lead, 17 points.
•
44.4
— Percent free throw shooting for Cleveland, the worst against the Rockets this season.

Last word

"That's a doctoral dissertation."

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, when asked what impresses him most about LeBron James.